UNITED KINGDOM – Updated Guidance for Tier 2 and Tier 5 Sponsors

Effective 18 July 2018, the Home Office has updated its guidance for Tier 2 and Tier 5 sponsors.

Among the key changes are the following:

• For Resident Labor Market Tests (RLMT), employers must now submit information about job applicants who are settled workers and either do not take up a job or whose job applications are rejected. Employers must provide documents, such as interview notes, which demonstrate why the applicant was not employed. This requirement is noted in Appendix D of the sponsor guidance.
• Provisions concerning Croatian nationals have been removed, as transitional controls on Croatian workers ended at midnight on 30 June 2018. Croatian nationals now have the same rights to work in the UK as other EEA nationals.
• A correction has been made to reflect that the Immigration Skills Charge does not apply to Tier 2 (General) applicants who have switched from Tier 4 since 6 April 2017 who are extending their stay to continue working in the same role.
• A correction has been made to reflect that partial refunds of the Immigration Skills Charge are not made for the first year of sponsorship.
• References to “Universal Jobmatch” have been changed to “Find a job”.
• Doctors and nurses have been added to the list of people to whom an unrestricted certificate of sponsorship may be assigned.
• In Annex 5, an additional ground for revocation is added in respect of sponsors reasonably believed to have artificially inflated the salary of a migrant worker applying for indefinite leave to remain.

Action Items

Employers who may be affected by the new sponsor guidance are encouraged to consult their immigration specialist for a case-specific assessment.